Strong Internship Programs in the Newsroom: A Survey of Practices in the Field and Analysis of Tools for Improvement

Abstract

Accredited journalism schools acknowledge the need for strong internships, and provide basic guidance for newsrooms on administering internship programs. However, most newsroom intern supervisors begin with few other resources to build or improve a program. A survey of newsroom intern supervisors was undertaken to explore a range of internship environments, identify common practices and gauge interest in tools for improvement. In addition, a review of published literature pertinent to building, improving and running such a program was sought in order to provide a coaching framework to assist the newsroom supervisor. Most surveyed said they invented their program along the way and expressed an interest in other tools for improvement, but other production duties don’t leave much time for research. These modest survey results offer a peek through a doorway into a new field of internship research that offers much promise for future investigation.